As he considered the options, Norm Raskin meticulously filled his bag with chicken, veggies, grapes and a loaf of bread.

“It’s fresh and it’s free,” he noted approvingly. “Good stuff.”

Raskin and his neighbors gathered outside Village Center Apartments in Anaheim on Wednesday, May 9, to try out the just-debuted “Park-It Market.” Housed inside a 36-foot trailer, the movable food pantry will pay regular visits to low-income senior communities throughout the county.

Seniors pick up food from the Park-It Market in Anaheim on Wednesday, May 9, 2018 during the mobile markets unveiling. The market will make stops at designated locations around the county for clients to choose their own food. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Nicole Suydam, executive director of the Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County, speaks during the unveiling of a new Park-It Market in Anaheim on Wednesday, May 9, 2018. The mobile market will make stops at designated locations around the county for clients to choose their own food. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)

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Seniors pick up food from the Park-It Market in Anaheim on Wednesday, May 9, 2018. The mobile market will make stops at designated locations around the county for clients to choose their own food. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Seniors from the Village Center Apartments in Anaheim pick up food from the Park-It Market on Wednesday, May 9, 2018. The mobile market, which carries 6,000 pounds of food, will make stops at designated locations around the county for clients to choose their own food. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Residents of the Village Center Apartments in Anaheim pick up food from the Park-It Market on Wednesday, May 9, 2018. The mobile market will make stops at designated locations around the county for clients to choose their own food. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Residents of the Village Center Apartments in Anaheim listen during an unveiling event for the Park-It Market on Wednesday, May 9, 2018. The mobile market will make 20 stops a week at designated locations around the county for clients to choose their own food. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Finally, four shelves offer staples more typical of food giveaways – such as cereal, peanut butter and rice.

Most of the food is donated through Second Harvest’s “grocery rescue” program.

“It’s perfectly good food nearing the sell-by date,” said Ellie Nedry, the nonprofit’s community programs manager.

The trailer has a behind-the-scenes refrigerated area where grocer donations can be stored – and from which shelves can be restocked as patrons load up.

Custom-designed for Second Harvest, the $175,000 freighter carries 6,000 pounds of food.

On Wednesday, Anaheim Mayor Tom Tait and other officials welcomed the truck’s arrival at a ribbon cutting.

“Anaheim is the City of Kindness,” Tait said, referring to Anaheim’s motto. “This represents 21.6 million acts of kindness.” That’s the number of meals delivered by Second Harvest Orange County last year.

The Park-It Market solves a few major issues food banks confront, Suydam said.

“Not all pantries have the capacity to handle this many perishable goods,” she said. “The truck gives us a way to keep the food safe and fresh.”

Additionally, the self-contained trailer can go to apartment complexes, churches and other locations short on space for food events.

“It allows people both dignity and convenience,” Suydam said. “They can pick out what they want rather than just be handed a box of food.”

After the speeches, residents each could fill one bag with whatever caught their eye – no limits on any particular item.

“I brought my own bag – a big one,” Kristina Rebenczuk said with a laugh. “Everything looks so good. This feels more like a grocery store than a food bank.”

The Park-It Market will serve around 20 Orange County cities, including Tustin, Huntington Beach, Brea and San Juan Capistrano.

***Service plans

The Park-It Market will begin making stops at up to 20 locations throughout Orange County including in Anaheim, Brea, Fountain Valley, Fullerton, Huntington Beach, Irvine, Laguna Hills, Mission Viejo, Newport Beach, San Juan Capistrano and Tustin. The program will be rolled out at all of these sites over the next month, so adjustments may be made. Notices will be posted at the chosen senior complexes. The Park-it Market will visit each site weekly.

After majoring in journalism at the University of Texas, Susan Christian Goulding got her start as a copy editor and reporter at the (late, great) Los Angeles Herald Examiner. She then worked at the (late, great) Santa Monica Outlook and the Daily Breeze as a features editor, writer and columnist. She moved to the Orange County bureau of the Los Angeles Times as a features and business writer. After that five-year stint, she worked as a correspondent for People magazine and a regular freelancer for Readers Digest while raising her two kids, Erin and Matt. During this time, she also wrote a weekly column for the Daily Breeze. Next, she gave up all possibility of free time and earned a teaching credential and masters at UCI. She taught English for four often rewarding and always challenging years in Compton, then at LMU and El Camino College. Missing journalism, Goulding circled back to her original career last year, joining the Orange County Register as a reporter. She also enjoys her return to column writing for the newspaper's OC Home magazine.